Written Answers Thursday 3 November 2005

Scottish Executive

Autism

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the incidence of autism is in the non-vaccinated population.

Lewis Macdonald: Information about the incidence of autism in the non-vaccinated population in Scotland is not held centrally. A population-based study of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination and autism compared the risk of autism or other autistic spectrum disorders in MMR-vaccinated and MMR-unvaccinated children in Denmark. (Madsen KM, Hviid A, Vestergaard M, et al. New England Journal of Medicine 2002;347(19) : 1477-82). The study found no statistically significant difference between the two groups, with a diagnosis of autism or other autism spectrum disorder in 0.14% of vaccinated children (14 cases per 10,000 population) and 0.12% of unvaccinated children (12 cases per 10,000 population).

Blind and Partially Sighted People

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be the optimum number of trained rehabilitation workers for blind and partially sighted people, expressed per 100,000 population.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally, it is for local authorities to identify the number of rehabilitation workers required to provide a particular service within their area. The Scottish Executive funds Guide Dogs for the Blind to train rehabilitation workers at the Glasgow School of Vision and Rehabilitation Studies in Glasgow.

Child Care

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered (a) day nurseries, (b) childminders, (c) playgroups and (d) out-of-school clubs there were in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Robert Brown: Information about (a) day nurseries, (c) playgroups and (d) out-of-school clubs is available broken down by local authority for 2003-05 inclusive, and nationally for 2001 and 2002. Information about registered childminders is available for years 2003-04 inclusive. This information is presented in the following tables 1 to 4.

  Table 1: Number of Day-Nurseries in Scotland by Local Authority, 2001-05

  

 
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City
 
 
113
118
114


Aberdeenshire
 
 
112
114
119


Angus
 
 
70
67
68


Argyll and Bute
 
 
68
70
68


Clackmannanshire
 
 
28
27
23


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
66
64
70


Dundee City
 
 
59
61
57


East Ayrshire
 
 
42
41
40


East Dunbartonshire
 
 
38
43
43


East Lothian
 
 
51
45
47


East Renfrewshire
 
 
28
29
26


Edinburgh City
 
 
234
246
246


Eilean Siar
 
 
8
7
10


Falkirk
 
 
59
68
69


Fife
 
 
164
149
145


Glasgow City
 
 
239
256
257


Highland
 
 
178
178
180


Inverclyde
 
 
32
38
40


Midlothian
 
 
34
38
40


Moray
 
 
34
32
41


North Ayrshire
 
 
64
64
66


North Lanarkshire
 
 
122
139
138


Orkney Islands
 
 
19
21
21


Perth and Kinross
 
 
76
77
78


Renfrewshire
 
 
74
75
77


Scottish Borders
 
 
67
68
70


Shetland Islands
 
 
23
24
26


South Ayrshire
 
 
42
47
49


South Lanarkshire
 
 
147
130
129


Stirling
 
 
41
46
45


West Dunbartonshire
 
 
37
36
37


West Lothian
 
 
74
73
75


Unknown
 
 
 
 
3


Scotland
2,227
2,244
2,443
2,491
2,517



  Notes:

  2004 information from the 2004 Pre-school and Childcare Census.

  2003 information from the 2003 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  2002 information from the 2002 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  A small number of services reported may not be registered.

  Table 2: Number of Registered Childminders in Scotland by Local Authority, 2003-05.

  

 
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City
259
261
221


Aberdeenshire
549
364
423


Angus
235
208
202


Argyll and Bute
108
138
113


Clackmannanshire
62
54
55


Dumfries and Galloway
134
134
139


Dundee City
150
135
146


East Ayrshire
157
185
172


East Dunbartonshire
66
137
144


East Lothian
167
152
135


East Renfrewshire
161
159
151


Edinburgh City
313
294
416


Eilean Siar
50
47
45


Falkirk
104
281
182


Fife
612
535
553


Glasgow City
294
284
223


Highland
515
479
404


Inverclyde
80
78
76


Midlothian
117
104
104


Moray
134
135
161


North Ayrshire
124
132
144


North Lanarkshire
194
193
242


Orkney Islands
31
30
40


Perth and Kinross
182
241
241


Renfrewshire
153
138
123


Scottish Borders
212
189
174


Shetland Islands
58
55
43


South Ayrshire
163
174
154


South Lanarkshire
259
322
273


Stirling
212
192
159


West Dunbartonshire
61
61
56


West Lothian
295
274
260


Unknown
 
 
126


Scotland
6,211
6,165
6,100



  Notes:

  2005 information provided by the Care Commission. Figures relate to 1 February 2005.

  2004 information from the 2004 Childminder Survey. Information provided is based on a sample survey.

  2003 information from the 2003 Childminder Survey. Information provided is based on a sample survey.

  Table 3: Number of Playgroups in Scotland by Local Authority, 2001-05

  

 
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City
 
 
50
44
35


Aberdeenshire
 
 
102
103
100


Angus
 
 
36
28
27


Argyll and Bute
 
 
35
39
23


Clackmannanshire
 
 
12
13
4


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
44
39
40


Dundee City
 
 
14
10
8


East Ayrshire
 
 
20
20
18


East Dunbartonshire
 
 
17
17
15


East Lothian
 
 
23
19
18


East Renfrewshire
 
 
20
15
15


Edinburgh City
 
 
83
73
59


Eilean Siar
 
 
34
33
32


Falkirk
 
 
20
18
17


Fife
 
 
72
60
50


Glasgow City
 
 
68
56
28


Highland
 
 
99
91
76


Inverclyde
 
 
8
7
7


Midlothian
 
 
16
13
13


Moray
 
 
56
52
48


North Ayrshire
 
 
25
23
19


North Lanarkshire
 
 
40
48
18


Orkney Islands
 
 
4
4
5


Perth and Kinross
 
 
35
34
30


Renfrewshire
 
 
19
9
10


Scottish Borders
 
 
33
35
33


Shetland Islands
 
 
9
10
10


South Ayrshire
 
 
20
19
14


South Lanarkshire
 
 
66
45
32


Stirling
 
 
21
24
21


West Dunbartonshire
 
 
9
8
5


West Lothian
 
 
35
34
30


Unknown
 
 
 
 
1


Scotland
1,391
1,198
1,145
1,043
861



  Notes:

  2004 information from the 2004 Pre-school and Childcare Census.

  2003 information from the 2003 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  2002 information from the 2002 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  A small number of services reported may not be registered.

  Table 4: Number of Out-of-School Clubs in Scotland by Local Authority, 2001-05

  

 
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


Aberdeen City
 
 
67
71
54


Aberdeenshire
 
 
35
43
45


Angus
 
 
16
21
23


Argyll and Bute
 
 
17
17
15


Clackmannanshire
 
 
13
14
11


Dumfries and Galloway
 
 
23
21
25


Dundee City
 
 
22
27
27


East Ayrshire
 
 
16
13
16


East Dunbartonshire
 
 
28
33
32


East Lothian
 
 
22
21
23


East Renfrewshire
 
 
20
22
26


Edinburgh City
 
 
104
117
120


Eilean Siar
 
 
8
6
8


Falkirk
 
 
20
22
24


Fife
 
 
72
60
64


Glasgow City
 
 
148
161
148


Highland
 
 
32
30
39


Inverclyde
 
 
5
18
13


Midlothian
 
 
14
16
17


Moray
 
 
13
13
13


North Ayrshire
 
 
33
36
32


North Lanarkshire
 
 
45
46
45


Orkney Islands
 
 
2
3
2


Perth and Kinross
 
 
25
28
34


Renfrewshire
 
 
44
37
38


Scottish Borders
 
 
22
27
35


Shetland Islands
 
 
10
10
8


South Ayrshire
 
 
21
23
23


South Lanarkshire
 
 
62
43
49


Stirling
 
 
20
22
23


West Dunbartonshire
 
 
20
17
23


West Lothian
 
 
28
28
23


Unknown
 
 
 
 
1


Scotland
434
465
1,027
1,066
1,079



  Notes:

  2004 information from the 2004 Pre-school and Childcare Census.

  2003 information from the 2003 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  2002 information from the 2002 Census of Children’s Daycare and Pre-school Education Centres.

  A small number of services reported may not be registered.

Child Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of spending under the Working for Families Fund.

Malcolm Chisholm: The allocations of Working for Families funding for 2004-06 and 2006-08 were announced on 9 December 2003 and 23 August 2005 respectively. The following tables give details:

  Table 1 – Local Authorities receiving funding 2004-08

  

 
£ Million p.a


Glasgow
2.5


North Lanarkshire
1.5


Renfrewshire
1.0


Dundee City
1.0


North Ayrshire
1.0


Highland
0.6


East Ayrshire
0.6


West Dunbartonshire
0.6


Inverclyde
0.6


Dumfries and Galloway
0.6


Total
10



  Table 2 – Local Authorities receiving funding 2006-08

  

 
Allocation £ Million p.a


Edinburgh (City of)
0.75


Fife
0.75


South Lanarkshire
0.75


West Lothian
0.45


Aberdeen City
0.45


Falkirk
0.45


Aberdeenshire
0.35


Angus
0.35


Midlothian
0.35


Clackmannanshire
0.35


Total
5



  The Employment Research Institute at Napier University will be carrying out a cost benefit analysis as part of their evaluation of the Working for Families fund. The final evaluation report is due in February 2007.

Child Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will audit and measure spending by local authorities under the Working for Families Fund to ensure that resources are allocated according to the greatest need.

Malcolm Chisholm: Allocations of Working for Families funding were made to local authorities based on the numbers of children in households dependent on key benefits.

  Working for Families services are targeted towards lone parents, parents on low income and parents with other stresses in the household. These groups have been identified as those in the greatest need. Services are not restricted to the 15% most deprived areas. Local authorities’ plans are assessed and signed off by the Scottish Executive thus ensuring that the projects fit with the aims of the fund and focus on the target groups.

  Normal audit arrangements will apply to Working for Families spending. In addition, the Employment Research Institute at Napier University has been contracted to carry out independent monitoring and evaluation. This will include a cost benefit analysis, looking at the impacts (outputs and outcomes) against the financial cost of the services.

Child Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many parents are now in employment as a result of assistance from the Working for Families Fund.

Malcolm Chisholm: At 30 June 2005, 301 parents registered with Working for Families had experienced a successful transition, including to full and part-time employment, training or education, volunteer work and improved or sustained employment. The current number entering employment was 141.

  Updated figures for July to September 2005 are due to be submitted to the Scottish Executive in November 2005. These figures will be published on the Working for Families website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Social-Inclusion/17414/15075.

Child Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether resources allocated for the provision of child care through the Working for Families Fund have resulted in reduced costs of child care for families (a) moving towards and (b) in employment.

Malcolm Chisholm: Working for Families has resulted in reduced costs of child care for a number of families who have moved towards and into employment. Financial assistance has been provided in the form of a child care subsidy, provided to parents for a limited time at key transitional points. This includes moving into employment, accessing training or volunteering opportunities, and engaging with other Working for Families projects, for example confidence building and soft skills training. Working for Families has also ring fenced places with local child care providers to ensure provision of affordable and available child care for Working for Families clients.

Dental Health

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote good oral hygiene amongst children and young people.

Lewis Macdonald: There is an extensive education and training plan for oral hygiene amongst children and young people in Scotland.

  All parents of children under the age of one year receive an education and information pack, advising on good oral hygiene and oral care. To further complement this, children on starting nursery and starting school also receive similar advice.

  We have further introduced an oral hygiene education into nursery schools and at present approximately 65-70% of all nursery school children undergo an education and training programme with regular daily supervised oral hygiene. This programme is being extended to targeted primary schools in next year’s programme (2006-07), although some areas have already started this.

Disclosure Scotland

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests have been received by Disclosure Scotland since its inception to provide criminal record checks on individuals from (a) Scotland, (b) the rest of the United Kingdom, (c) the rest of the European Union and (d) non-EU countries.

Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland does not record information about the origin of applicants for criminal record checks.

Education

Iain Smith (North East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) regarding educational reforms in Scotland.

Peter Peacock: My officials are in touch with DfES officials on a range of common interests. While I meet with DfES Ministers from time to time to discuss issues of mutual interest, I also meet with ministers from many other countries.

Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been brought under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005.

Colin Boyd QC: Since the introduction of the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005, procurators fiscal have commenced court proceedings in respect of 92 charges under that act.

  Note: This information has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies. The database is charge-based. The figure quoted therefore relates to the number of charges rather than the number of individuals charged or the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

Energy

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any plans for using sewage as a fuel.

Rhona Brankin: Dried sewage sludge pellets are presently used as fuel. Plans for the use of sewage sludge in the future are an operational matter for Scottish Water and, where relevant, its contractors.

European Union

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the First Minister has produced a report in respect of his attendance at the Committee of the Regions meeting in Brussels on 12 October 2005 and, if so, whether the report will be published.

Mr Tom McCabe: No. In respect of the First Minister’s attendance at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) plenary on 13 October, the CoR makes minutes of its meetings available on its Transfer of Administrative Documents (TOAD) website, a link to which can be found on the Scottish Executive website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/Europe/Menu17 .

European Union

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what reports it has received of contributions to the Committee of the Regions meeting in Brussels on 12 October 2005 made by those members appointed by the Parliament to represent it on the committee.

Mr Tom McCabe: None.

Finance

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the actual date for publication of Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-04 will be.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland 2003-04 publication is planned to be published in mid-December. A definitive date has not been set yet.

Fisheries

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the second supplementary question to question S2O-2883 by Allan Wilson on 1 July 2004, when it expects to fulfil the commitment given by the then Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Affairs to repeal the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 and whether it will give details of the trusts referred to in the answer.

Rhona Brankin: Although repeal is an option, my understanding is that the Scottish Freshwater Fisheries Forum is very strongly of the view that the current arrangements should be improved not revoked.

  Proposals relating to access to salmon and freshwater fisheries will be explored in a consultation document, to be published shortly, about the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill, scheduled to be introduced to the Parliament next summer.

Flooding

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure it has incurred as a result of hydrological enquiries in the context of development plans and whether it will ensure that such expenditure is incurred in respect of all developments where there is a risk of flooding.

Johann Lamont: The Scottish Executive is funding the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to prepare new indicative flood risk maps at a cost of £1.9 million and has previously spent £1.4 million on the digital terrain model which provides the basis for the maps. A key purpose of the maps is to help planning authorities prepare their development plans (i.e. structure and local plans). The maps, at a scale of 1:50,000, are due to be issued from spring 2006. The preparation of development plans is the responsibility of planning authorities and expenditure on specific hydrological studies in support of their preparation is a matter for them.

  The new maps will also help planning authorities when they consider individual planning applications for development, consider whether the applicant should be asked to provide a detailed site-specific flood risk assessment and whether SEPA’s expert advice on flood risk should be sought. SEPA is funded by the Scottish Executive to provide planning authorities with advice on the risk of flooding.

Haemophilia

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was paid to the Haemophilia Society in each year from 1980 to 2004 and what the purpose was of these payments.

Lewis Macdonald: The Haemophilia Society has received grant funding under section 16B of the NHS (Scotland) Act 1978, amounting to £10,000 in each financial year from 1996-97 to 2005-06. The purpose of these grants is to offer the society a contribution to the costs of the support and information services it provides to people with haemophilia in Scotland.

Health

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken following the recent report that south Asians are more likely to suffer from fatal coronary heart disease.

Mr Andy Kerr: I am aware of the report Heart Disease and South Asians , published jointly by the British Heart Foundation and the Department of Health in England. The report noted that South Asian people were more likely to die prematurely from coronary heart disease (CHD) than the general population. However, the report also noted that the reason for increased incidence of CHD cannot be fully explained.

  Coronary heart disease has a number of common risk factors with diabetes, and people with diabetes have a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease. We have therefore set up an Ethnic Minority subgroup of the Scottish Diabetes Group to consider how to reduce risk factors and how to improve diabetes services for those who do develop the condition. This work, while focused on diabetes, will also reduce the risk of developing CHD.

  More generally, we issued a Health Department Letter in 2002 (HDL (2002)51) which required NHS organisations to address the challenge of ethnic minority health and to develop local demographic profiles of access to services by all ethnic groups. We will also start to collect data on ethnicity as part of the SCI Coronary Heart Disease data and information system later this year. This will enable us to monitor incidence of CHD within the South Asian community in Scotland.

Information Technology

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address the issue of users in communities with broadband-enabled telecom exchanges being unable to receive broadband due to the existence of old copper wiring which is unable to deliver broadband to those far from the exchange.

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to address any technical problems preventing consumers from obtaining a broadband connection as a result of being located too far from their telecom exchange.

Tavish Scott: We have been working with BT to identify any residual areas with broadband access problems. In most cases the problem is distance from exchange. We are now analysing the data with BT, with a view to implementing solutions appropriate to demand, and subject to available budget. This process is likely to take us beyond the end of 2005.

  Through our contract with BT to enable 378 exchanges in rural and remote areas, we are on track to meet our commitment to extend broadband access to every community in Scotland by the end of the year.

  For this purpose, in defining "community", we are using "census output areas" which are the smallest building blocks for the higher order definitions of communities within the census. Typically, a census output area will contain about 50 households.

International Development

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will update the Parliament on its efforts in helping the people of Malawi and Pakistan.

Patricia Ferguson: As announced by the First Minister on 2 November, following the first round of its International Development Fund, the Scottish Executive is providing £2.4 million over the next three years for 18 projects focused on Malawi.

  In addition, we are in discussion with the Department for International Development about how we might provide direct support in response to the impending food shortages in Malawi.

  With regard to Pakistan, as the Deputy First Minister reported at last week’s First Minister’s Questions, we have offered staff to the Disasters Emergency Committee to help out and we stand ready to respond to requests over the weeks and months ahead.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reports of (a) murder, (b) culpable homicide, (c) assault to severe injury, (d) assault and (e) offences involving the possession of a bladed weapon have been referred to the Procurator Fiscal in Perth in each of the last five years.

Colin Boyd QC: The information requested is set out in the following table. Information is not available for periods prior to April 2002 1 .

  Number of Charges Reported to the Procurator Fiscal at Perth2,3

  

Charge Group
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05


a. Murder
2
0 
0 


b. Culpable Homicide
1
2
0


c. Assault to severe injury4
54
38
62


d. Assault4
788
908
1,262


e. Possession of bladed weapon5
24
21
35



  Notes:

  1. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service completed an upgrade of its electronic Case Management System in April 2002. Only case records created after that date contain complete data which is capable of electronic analysis. If a Procurator Fiscal amends a charge submitted by a reporting agency the database will record details only of the amended charge.

  2. The information in this table has been extracted from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database. The database is a live, operational database used to manage the processing of reports submitted to procurators fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies.

  3. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Case Management Database is charge-based. The figures in the table therefore relate to the number of charges rather than the number of incidents that gave rise to such charges.

  4. There are 124 separate charge codes containing the word "assault". The results in this table are restricted to the following charges: Assault includes - assault; assault injury. Assault to Severe Injury includes - assault to danger of life; assault disfigurement; assault severe injury; assault severe injury and danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, danger of life; assault to severe injury, disfigurement, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment; assault to severe injury, impairment, danger of life

  5. The results in the table are restricted to offences under the following sections of the Criminal Law Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1995 – Section 49 (possession of a knife), Section 49A (possession of a knife in school premises), and Section 47 (possession of an offensive weapon). Charges under Section 47 have only been included where the weapon in question was a knife, an axe, scissors or an open blade razor. It should be noted however that 72% of the charge records for offences under Section 47 do not contain any code to categorise the weapon involved.

Justice

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the current value of the drugs trade.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive does not hold the information necessary to enable a reliable estimate to be reached.

Justice

Miss Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is competent for a sheriff to electronically validate a search warrant application and, if not, whether there are any proposals to introduce such a system.

Colin Boyd QC: At present, it is not competent for a sheriff to authorise electronically a search warrant.

  Statutory provisions exist which enable the Scottish ministers, by Statutory Instrument, to modify the provisions of any statute or common law requirements for the purpose of authorising or facilitating the use of electronic communications or electronic storage. There are, however, substantial legal, resource and technical impediments to the utilisation of the statutory provisions at present. Work is being carried out in resolving these issues in order to achieve implementation of electronically authorised warrants in the longer term.

Justice

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been found guilty of crimes and offences relating to G8 protests, broken down by the (a) police force and (b) local authority area where the offence took place.

Cathy Jamieson: Information at the level of detail requested is not available in the statistics held centrally.

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the annual reports of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Interception of Communications Commissioner will be laid before the Parliament.

Cathy Jamieson: Copies of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner’s annual report for 2004-05 (Bib. number 37809, document number SE/2005/203) and the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s annual report for 2004 (Bib. number 37808, document number SE/2005/100) have been laid before Parliament today in accordance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. With the agreement of the Prime Minister, the confidential annex to the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s report, which contains sensitive information, has been excluded from the published report. Copies of both have been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

  Covert surveillance and interception of communications are two of the ways in which the police and other law enforcement agencies prevent and detect serious and organised crime in Scotland. Ministers authorise interception warrants in Scotland for the purpose of preventing and detecting serious crime. Both commissioners make it clear in their reports that they are satisfied that those authorising surveillance and interception, carry out these tasks diligently and strictly in accordance with the law.

Local Government

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government in relation to protecting the pensions of Scottish local government employees.

Mr Tom McCabe: Occupational and personal pensions are reserved matters under the Scotland Act 1998 and are the responsibility of the UK Government. However, Scottish ministers have the devolved responsibility for making regulations to establish and maintain public pensions schemes in Scotland, subject to the approval of HM Treasury.

  The Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in England and Wales and Scotland are funded schemes with a normal pension age of 65. The UK Government’s proposals to reform these schemes are being taken forward through tripartite working groups involving Government, employers and the unions. The Scottish LGPS Group is due to meet on 17 November when the next steps in taking forward the reform of the LGPS will be discussed.

  The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) chairs the Scottish LGPS Group. In order to fulfil this role it liaises closely with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on issues relating to the LGPS as there is general policy aim of maintaining parity between each of the pension schemes across the UK to assist the potential for mobility and to ensure fairness. In addition, both the SPPA and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) regularly meet with other UK pension representatives at the UK Local Government Pensions Committee, ensuring that Scottish local government employers’ views are taken into account in this UK discussion forum.

  The LGPS currently includes a provision through which certain members are able to retire on full pension at age 60, depending on their length of service and age. This provision will have to be removed in 2006 in order to comply with recent European age-discrimination legislation. However, protection for certain existing members who expected to qualify under this rule was proposed in a consultation paper on pension reforms issued by the SPPA in November 2004. These proposals will be discussed further by the LGPS Group.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether cognitive behavioural therapy treatment is offered as an option to all people affected by depression.

Lewis Macdonald: The promotion of individual care therapies and treatments are a matter for clinicians in consultation with the relevant professional staff/multi-disciplinary team. Decisions in each case should always be based on individually assessed clinical needs.

  The Doing Well by People with Depression initiative, currently in its third year, is seeking to build capacity in psychological therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy, for people with depressive symptoms. Currently, 10 NHS Scotland health board areas (including NHS Highland) are operating capacity building projects which include access to cognitive behavioural therapy treatments and a learning network is open to all NHS boards.

  The Scottish Executive published guidance in 2001 on the best organisation of local accessible psychological services, care and support recognised the important contribution that psychological interventions can make to the recovery process.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to promote self-management of depression.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is sponsoring the Doing Well by People with Depression Programme over a three year period from April 2003. The programme is seeking to build capacity for self help and to improve access on a sustainable basis to psychological therapies which have an appropriate evidence base The programme is working across 10 NHS boards and is piloting a range of initiatives such as access to self help therapists, bibliotherapy, computer based training and sign-posting to voluntary organisations.

Mental Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to extend the use of cognitive behavioural therapy for the treatment of people affected by depression.

Lewis Macdonald: NHS Education for Scotland in association with Stirling University now offer an MSc in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The first course ends in January 2006.

  Additionally, the Doing Well by People with Depression Programme sponsored by the Scottish Executive is building capacity in the use of cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of people affected by depression. The programme is working with 10 NHS boards on delivering CBT to appropriate patients and is developing web-based training packages for practitioners.

NHS Hospitals

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with NHS Borders regarding the proposed closures of Jedburgh and Coldstream cottage hospitals.

Mr Andy Kerr: No decision has been taken about the future of these two hospitals. As you know, NHS Borders has been reviewing in-patient facilities in the Borders area with a view to deciding how services should be delivered in future. The board’s overall strategy was discussed at the NHS Borders Annual Review on 10 October.

  I understand that, having considered the outcome of the review, NHS Borders has selected preferred options, and these will be subject to a three month public consultation starting this month. The role of Jedburgh and Coldstream Cottage Hospitals in the future will form part of the consultation.

  I expect NHS Borders to continue to engage closely with the local communities and their representatives over the course of the consultation.

People with Disabilities

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance is issued to local authorities and other social agencies in respect of the provision of aids and adaptations to elderly and disabled people.

Lewis Macdonald: Guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations to people of all ages is summarised in Using the Law to Develop and Improve Equipment and Adaptation Provision published by The Scottish Executive in 2003, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 28304).

People with Learning Disabilities

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the existence of medium-sized private sector-provided adult care institutions for people with learning disabilities.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of the use by NHS boards or local authorities of private sector-provided adult care institutions for people with learning disabilities.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much public funding is committed for people with learning disabilities being placed in private sector-provided adult care institutions.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers the provision of care in private sector-provided adult care institutions for people with learning disabilities to be consistent with the principle of moving away from institutional care established in the The same as you? .

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is aware of private sector adult care institutions that provide services for people with learning disabilities and that some local authorities and NHS boards are commissioning such services. Information is not held centrally about the amount of public funding being used for private sector care.

  The Scottish Executive remains committed to the principles of The same as you? whereby adults with learning disabilities should be provided with the care and support they need to live, wherever possible, in the community.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many complaints relating to the planning system have been lodged with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman in each of the last five years and, of these, how many have been upheld.

Johann Lamont: This information is not held centrally.

Planning

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has conducted into the effectiveness of pre-application consultation with communities prior to the submission of planning applications to local authorities for determination.

Johann Lamont: The Executive has not undertaken any research on the effectiveness of pre-application consultation with communities.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of police funding has been in each of the last two years, broken down by police force, and what the projected levels are for the next two years, showing year-on-year percentage changes and, in each case, expressed also on a per capita basis.

Cathy Jamieson: The information is shown in the following tables.

  Police GAE (£ Million)

  

Force
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Central
42.4
46.0
48.2
51.9


Dumfries and Galloway
26.2
28.0
29.1
30.5


Fife
52.9
58.2
59.7
65.8


Grampian
84.3
89.4
93.7
101.9


Lothian and Borders
168.8
178.8
185.4
195.2


Northern
48.9
50.4
53.6
57.4


Strathclyde 
444.1
476.4
496.3
513.5


Tayside
71.4
76.4
79.2
82.7


Scotland
939.0
1,003.6
1,045.2
1,098.9



  Year-on-Year Increase

  

Force
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Central
5.1%
8.6%
4.8%
7.7%


Dumfries and Galloway
6.2%
6.8%
4.2%
4.6%


Fife
7.0%
10.0%
2.6%
10.2%


Grampian
7.5%
6.0%
4.8%
8.8%


Lothian and Borders
5.6%
6.0%
3.7%
5.3%


Northern
4.9%
3.0%
6.3%
7.1%


Strathclyde 
5.5%
7.3%
4.2%
3.5%


Tayside
4.4%
7.1%
3.7%
4.4%


Scotland
5.7%
6.9%
4.2%
5.1%



  GAE Per Capita (£)

  

Force
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07
2007-08


Central
150
163
171
184


Dumfries and Galloway
177
189
197
206


Fife
149
164
168
186


Grampian
161
171
179
195


Lothian and Borders
188
199
207
218


Northern
175
181
192
206


Strathclyde 
201
216
225
233


Tayside
184
197
204
213


Scotland
184
198
206
216



  GAE figures per capita were calculated using the latest population estimates at 30 June 2004.

Prison Service

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that it may be at risk of legal action for compensation from prisoners or staff exposed to passive smoking during transportation to and from the courts.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  
That would be a matter for Reliance Custodial Services. However, we understand that a no smoking policy applies, and that smoke detection equipment is located in their vehicles.

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to protect Lothian Buses as a public entity when considering proposals for the introduction of trams in the city of Edinburgh; what assurances it has obtained from promoters and other organisations that Lothian Buses will not be adversely affected by the introduction of trams; whether protection has been given to Lothian Buses to prevent it being privatised in order to make up any shortfall in the cost of the trams scheme, and, if not, whether it will now seek to ensure such protection.

Tavish Scott: The future ownership and structure of Lothian Buses is a matter for City of Edinburgh Council.

Rail Network

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding and strategic decisions will be taken on the upgrading of the East Coast main line between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, in light of the Executive’s new powers to provide funding and specify where resources are targeted by Network Rail.

Tavish Scott: We are developing a rail strategy for Scotland which will determine where our future strategic and funding priorities will be. The rail strategy will feed into the National Transport Strategy which will be published in summer 2006.

Rail Network

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

Tavish Scott: We are encouraged by Strathclyde Passenger Transport’s (SPT) recent announcement that they are in a position to submit the private Bill for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) once there is a suitable parliamentary opportunity.

Regeneration

Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is working to address long-term economic decline of former coalfield and industrial areas.

Nicol Stephen: Apart from the normal range of support measures, our agencies are also working with local authorities on a number of large scale projects. For example, in Lanarkshire, we are seeing the redevelopment of Ravenscraig and in Glasgow, the transformation of the Clyde Waterfront. In Ayrshire, the local enterprise company is working alongside local authorities to develop proposals for the redevelopment of Kilmarnock Town Centre and Irvine Bay.

Renewable Energy

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19406 by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005 which states that the United Kingdom has not set a target with regard to the use of biofuels, why the Executive is unable to act independently from the UK Government in setting these targets and in taking the necessary steps to ensure that Scotland meets the requirements of the EU directive on biofuels, 2003/30/EC.

Tavish Scott: While it would be possible for Scotland to adopt a different target to the rest of the UK for the use of biofuels, the measures to deliver an increase in biofuels usage in relation to taxation are best pursued at a UK level. In addition, we are currently discussing with the Department of Transport proposals for a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation which would only be effective if undertaken at a UK level.

Renewable Energy

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19408 by Tavish Scott on 30 September 2005 which states that the use of biofuels is a commercial matter for fuel manufacturers and retailers and given that biofuels only produce 30% of the emissions as fossil fuels, whether it is the Executive’s policy for the market to take the lead in promoting the use of biofuels.

Tavish Scott: Regional Selective Assistance grant and the support available through the Business Gateway are some of the few methods of direct public support for industry allowable under the European Union’s single market rules.

  There is currently a 20p per litre fuel duty incentive which has been extended to bioethanol in January 2005. These measures have been successful in pump priming the UK biofuel market. However, more certainty in the UK renewable transport fuels market is needed to attract substantial investment into renewable fuels infrastructure and equipment.

  To this end we are continuing to discuss with the UK Department for Transport the possible introduction of a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, which could further increase the use of biofuels by introducing some form of regulatory obligation in the UK renewable transport fuel market.

Road Accidents

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The road traffic accident statistics which are held centrally relate only to "injury" road accidents (those in which one or more people are injured). This information is collected in the GB-wide "STATS 19" returns, which do not collect details of "damage only" accidents.

  The information requested, in respect of injury road accidents, is published in Table 7.1 of Scottish Transport Statistics No.24 2005 Edition, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37306).

Road Accidents

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents, attended by the fire service, there were in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The numbers of road traffic accidents attended by the Scottish fire and rescue services in the last five years are given in the following table.

  

Year
Number of Road Traffic Accidents Attended


2000-01
2,504


2001-02
2,736


2002-03
3,049


2003-04
2,677


2004-05
3,136

Road Accidents

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents in each of the last five years involved fire.

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were where people were trapped and had to be released in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The information requested is not held centrally.

Road Accidents

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reported road traffic accidents there were where people were trapped and had to be released by the fire service in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The number of road traffic accidents where people were released by the Scottish fire and rescue services in the last five years are given in the following table.

  

Year
Number of Accidents


2000-01
769


2001-02
851


2002-03
856


2003-04
897


2004-05
832

Roads

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects to receive the report of the recent public inquiry into the route orders for the proposed upgrade of the A80.

Tavish Scott: The Inquiry Reporter has advised that the report is likely to be completed in spring 2006.

Roads

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many accidents there were at the A96 Alves and Lhanbryde crawler lane in each of the last six years.

Tavish Scott: The number of injury accidents on the A96 at the Alves climbing lane in each of the last six years (January 1999 to December 2004) is as follows:

  

Year
Fatal
Serious
Slight


1999
0
0
0


2000
0
0
0


2001
0
0
0


2002
0
0
0


2003
0
0
0


2004
0
1
0


Total
0
1
0



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

  There is no climbing lane on the A96 at Lhanbryde. However, the number of injury accidents on the A96 on the Lahnbryde bypass in each of the last six years (January 1999 to December 2004) is as follows:

  

Year
Fatal
Serious
Slight


1999
0
1
1


2000
0
0
1


2001
0
0
0


2002
0
0
0


2003
0
0
1


2004
0
0
2


Total
0
1
5



  The figures quoted may differ slightly from those published elsewhere because they were extracted on a different date and the database may have changed between the two dates, e.g. due to late returns or corrections to earlier returns.

Roads

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the planned bilingual signage programme on trunk roads will be completed.

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will prioritise the A82 and A9 for bilingual signage in the run up to the Highland year of culture in 2007.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has completed bilingual signing on the A87, A887, A830 and the A835.

  Bilingual signing projects on the A828 and A85 are programmed for completion in 2006-07. The A83 between Tarbet and Kennacraig and the A82 between Tarbet and Inverness are still to be programmed and progressing these projects will be subject to the availability of funding.

Roads

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial benefit, associated with the opening up of land to new development, has been factored into the evaluation and comparison of route options for the southern leg of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and, if so, how.

Tavish Scott: No.

Roads

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the explanation is for variations in the projected costs of the route options for the southern leg of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, particularly the Milltimber, Murtle and Pitfodels routes which are of similar length but have different cost ranges.

Tavish Scott: The cost of each of the options reflect not just length but costs associated with the engineering complexity and land prices, all of which differ between routes.

Scottish Executive Contracts

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its consultancy contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its consultancy contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its information technology contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its information technology contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its rail improvement contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its rail improvement contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; how many such contracts there were; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its Environment and Rural Affairs Department contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of its Finance and Central Services Department contracts awarded to businesses with headquarters in Scotland; what percentage these values and numbers represented of the total (a) value and (b) number of its Finance and Central Services Department contracts, and what the value was of each contract in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive does not hold this information centrally and therefore could only provide this information at disproportionate cost.

Scottish Executive Funding

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will give to Architecture and Design Scotland for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 and from which level 3 budget this will come.

Mr Tom McCabe: Architecture and Design Scotland will receive the following funding:

  
(a) £727,000 for 2005-06
  (b) £752,000 for 2006-07
  (c) £752,000 for 2007-08.


  These funds will come from the Other Arts and Culture level 3 budget.

Scottish Executive Funding

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will give to the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 and from which level 3 budget this will come.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland will receive the following funding:

  
(a) £200,000 for 2005-06
  (b) £200,000 for 2006-07
  (c) £200,000 for 2007-08.


  These funds will come from the Other Public Transport level 3 budget.

Scottish Executive Funding

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will give to the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 and from which level 3 budget this will come.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Department does not provide any funding specifically for the Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA). SACDA is serviced by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) (formerly the Common Services Agency) and any expenditure is met from within NSS’s allocation.

Scottish Executive Funding

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will give to the Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 and from which level 3 budget this will come.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board will receive the following funding:

  
(a) £2,000 for 2005-06
  (b) £2,000 for 2006-07
  (c) £2,000 for 2007-08.


  These funds will come from the Other Miscellaneous level 3 budget, which is part of the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department.

Social Services

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it will give to the Scottish Social Services Council for (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08 and from which level 3 budget this will come.

Mr Tom McCabe: Grant-in-aid funding for the Scottish Social Services Council is set at £7,552,904 in 2005-06 with similar levels anticipated in 2006-07 and 2007-08. The future years’ figures are indicative and will be subject to final agreement in light of efficiencies and other prevailing circumstances at that time.

  The funding is held in the Social Work Development level 3 budget which is part of the Children, Young People and Social Care Group of the Education Department.

St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government in respect of the St Andrew’s Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Bill, as introduced by Dennis Canavan MSP.

Mr Tom McCabe: None.

Transport

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being considered to improve transport facilities in the Falkirk area.

Tavish Scott: Falkirk Council is currently working on a new local transport strategy to improve transport infrastructure and services within its area. The South East Scotland Transport Partnership will of course, be further assessing strategic transport priorities in the area.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives local authorities and public agencies to operate lift share schemes amongst their employees travelling to work.

Tavish Scott: We are working with regional transport partnerships and local authorities to promote the uptake of sustainable travel plans, of which such schemes may be an element.